Clearing the Path for Your Strategic Identity

Across 20 years of helping organizations define effective strategies, there's one truth that pops up over and over again.

It's a lot easier to create successful strategy
that meets its intended objectives
when you know who you are
and use that to inform your choices.

Your organizational identity is an integral part of your strategy.

But if the only parts of organizational identity work you've focused on are your mission, vision and values....

Then you likely don't know yourself, as an organization, well enough to make meaningful and consistent strategic decisions.

Even organizations that have done a fantastic, thoughtful job on developing their mission, vision and values sometimes struggle to put those elements of their identity into action in a practical way that impacts day-to-day work.

When you think about it on an individual level, there are many friends and colleagues I've met throughout my career who share essentially the same mission, vision and values I do as we work to make our world better for everyone.

And yet, our methods for bringing about that change are different.

Because we all have different lived experiences to draw from.
Different expertise, strengths, and preferences that shape our work.
Different things that give us energy and drain it.
Different styles and vibes.
Different roles we play.

The same is true for nonprofits.

Getting clear on who we are matters because it helps focus our work, improve our decision-making so we're consistently strategic, and better tell the story of why folks should invest with us to change the world.

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Need a little proof about the power of a clear strategic identity?

Two years ago, I worked with a visionary executive director whose organization is working on a vital, yet complex issue that isn't top of mind for most funders or citizens.

When she first came to me, she had been looking for a fundraising strategy. But through our initial conversation, it was clear that what she needed was more fundamental than that.

We spent three months working together to define their strategic identity, clarify their focus areas, and create a concise reference tool for her and her team.

In the middle of our work, she used the language we'd put together to get a meeting with a funder who she'd been trying to connect with for three years.

Last month, she sent me an email that included "big thanks to your help focusing our work and mission, we landed a $2.5 million grant this year! So grateful."

In a year where funding has been so uncertain, this is a huge win - and a pretty amazing return on the investment into creating a clear strategic identity.

If you're a nonprofit executive who found yourself nodding along with this post, book a call so we can make time to connect. I'd love to learn more about your organization, hear what you're thinking through right now, and talk through how a clear strategic identity and narrative could support you and your team.